DIAMONDS IN AFRICA

Diamonds in Africa: blessing or curse

Abstract

In recent years, the so-called 'resource curse' syndrome has gained increasing currency. Growing evidence suggests that many African countries with significant natural wealth have actually reaped limited rewards, instead experiencing underdevelopment, corruption, political instability, and in some cases, violent conflict. In the small West African state of Sierra Leone, it has been suggested that diamonds played a key role in fuelling a brutal civil war during the 1990s, an issue that has given rise to a burgeoning literature on 'blood diamonds'. However, as Sierra Leone emerges from a decade of destruction, other research suggests that diamonds could actually provide the impetus for post-war reconstruction. This paper explores the role of alluvial diamond mining in post-conflict Sierra Leone, focusing on two communities in the Eastern Province that were badly affected by the war. Drawing on field-based research conducted between 2002 and 2007, the paper considers the diamond mining situation in the context of broader development strategies in post-conflict reconstruction. It is argued that sustainable development can only be achieved if future policies are based on a detailed understanding of relationships between diamond mining and rural development at local, regional and national levels.

Diamonds in Africa: blessing or curse

Introduction

n 1867 a pretty pebble found near the Orange River, in the wilds of South Africa, was identified as a 21-carat diamond. Placer diamonds were found between the Vaal and Orange Rivers later in the year, and in March 1869 an 83-carat diamond turned up. By the end of 1870 there was a diamond rush, and by the end of 1871 two well-defined areas were recognized as the source areas, or "pipes", for the diamonds. Four pipes were discovered all together at the town of Kimberley. In 1872 the pipes were giant open quarries worked by 2500 miners and 10,000 hired laborers.

The Kimberley workings were 190 feet deep by 1875, and miners were hauling material out of the hole on aerial ropeways which covered the pit like spider webs. Soon the hauling was driven by machinery on the edge of the pit, and in 1875 the first steam-engine was installed. The cost of clearing away debris increased as the mines deepened, and slowly steam engines became necessary rather than optional. The rock became harder with depth, and by the end of the 1870s, the costs of mining became too great for one-man operations. The number of claim owners in the Kimberley pit dropped dramatically as people bought out their neighbors. Diamonds were first found in this region in the year 1867, reported discoveries at dates preceding this-for example, in the eighteenth century-being, for the most part, unfounded. Many versions of the circumstances under which the first discovery was made are in existence. According to one, a traveler of the name of O'Reilly saw a child playing with a bright and shining stone in the house of a Boer by name Jacobs, whose farm, "De Kalb," was situated a little to the south of the Orange River, and ...